There's No Place Like Home
by BrookePDavis23
Summary: Brooke Davis left her life in Tree Hill behind over a year ago. When she runs into an old friend and returns home will everyone welcome her with open arms? Will her love for the boy that broke her heart be too much to handle?
1. Chapter 1

Brooke stood in her small two bedroom apartment looking at the pictures she had next to the tv. Her favorite was of her, Nathan, and Haley graduating from high school a little over a year ago. That was the last day she saw anyone from home. As much as she missed Nathan and Haley, it was too hard for her to stick around and see her cheating ex-boyfriend and her whore of an ex-best friend together. This ex-boyfriend also happened to be Nathan's brother and Haley's childhood best friend. She knew if she stuck around seeing them would be inevitable. She decided it would be best to start over and move to New York City as soon as she graduated.

All hadn't gone as well as planned once she got there though. Right after moving in she found out she was pregnant and 5 months later came Jason Nathan Davis. He was turning one this week and it made her miss her friends and Tree Hill even more. The past year had by far been the hardest of her life and she was forced to face it alone. She knew if she kept any contact she wouldn't be able to keep from going back, so she hadn't so much as spoken to anyone that had anything to do with Tree Hill, North Carolina.

Brooke snapped out of her thoughts when the doorbell rang. After quickly going to open the door she hugged her friend Rachel. "Thanks for sitting Rach."

"No problem, I'm just glad your finally dating again. How long has it been with Julian anyway?" Rachel asked as she plopped onto the couch making herself at home as she always did. Brooke met Rachel a couple weeks after moving here at her new job as a waitress.

"It's been about four months now." Brooke blushed thinking about how much she liked this guy. She hadn't dated anyone since Lucas, and that obviously didn't work out well. It was a nice change, she had been lonely since she moved to New York and hopefully this would change that. "I gotta go though. He's already asleep and should be out for the rest of the night. I'll be home by midnight. I promise."

"Alright. Have fun Brooke and don't worry about staying out too late, I'm gonna crash here anyway."

"Thanks again. I owe you big time. Bye." And with that Brooke was out the door, she didn't know where Julian was taking her tonight but she was ten minutes late to meet him at Applebees for dinner.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Brooke leaned down and gave Julian a sweet kiss when she arrived at the restaurant.

"No problem. I just ordered you a Caesar salad since we only have 45 minutes til our next stop." Julian grinned.

"Thanks, can you tell me where we're going yet?" Brooke flashed her million dollar smile that she knew he couldn't resist.

"Fine." Julian stuck his tongue out at her. "I noticed that enjoy watching basketball so I figured maybe you'd want to go to a game tonight."

"Oooh! Sounds fun!" Brooke clapped her hands. "I haven't been to a game since I cheered in highschool." It was true she knew a lot about basketball. Dating a Scott could do that to you, she spent many meals discussing stats and many nights watching a game on tv.

"Great I'm glad you're excited. My friend from school, Paul is on the NYU team and got us really good seats." Brooke smiled, she was happy she would get to do something a normal 19 year old would do. They quickly finished up their meal and headed toward the arena a couple of blocks away. The stands were already packed with NYU fans dressed from head to toe in purple. Once they found their seats they were shocked on how good they really were. They were 10 rows behind the home team's bench.

"So who are they playing tonight?" Brooke asked as they waited for the game to start. Right when Julian was about to answer the announcer beat him to it…

"And now the visiting team enters the gym. Please welcome the Duke Blue Devils!" as a round of boos erupted from the stands, Brooke felt her stomach sink and hear stop a little.

"Naa..Nathan" she whispered as she fell back into her seat.

"Brooke? Are you okay?" Julian yelled over all of the noise.

"Uh. Yeah. I'm great." Brooke didn't want to ruin the night. I mean what were the chances Nathan would notice her in the crowd of a filled arena.

"Now to announce the starting line up for the Duke Blue Devils." The announcer began "At small forward, Reagan Matthews. Center, James Nelson." Brooke took a deep breath. Nathan might not see her but would she be able to handle seeing him again. It had been so long.

As the announcer finished reading the list of starters Brooke noticed there was only one left. "And the star player for the Duke University, shooting guard, Nathan Scott." Brooke instantly began jumping up and down and cheering. She couldn't help but feel proud as she looked down at Nathan running on to the court with his signature smirk across his face.

Julian looked down at Brooke confused. "Sorry, he's from home and I didn't expect him to be starting, he's only a sophomore." Brooke sat back down in her seat with a smile, she was so proud of her childhood best friend. As the game continued and she watched Nathan play, memories of her days as a Raven flooded back to her. She always thought she'd go to Duke and cheer along side of Peyton while Nathan starred on the basketball team. That had been the plan since middle school, but so much had changed since then. That seemed like a lifetime ago, she was a different person then.

Brooke was able to enjoy the rest of the game joking around with Julian and pushing all other thoughts to the back of her head. During the 4th quarter a Bobcat got fouled and while the players set up for the foul shots the jumbotron showed the "KissCam". The cameramen would go around the arena and find couples and put them on the big screen. Everyone would then expect them to kiss. Julian and Brooke were laughing at all the goofy couple that went up on the screen until they noticed their faces up there. Julian grabbed Brooke and kissed her. When they broke apart, Brooke eyes went to the court and met the deep blue ones she's avoided all night. Nathan went pale and froze in place looking like he had just seen a ghost and in a way he had.


	2. Chapter 2

The last ten minutes of the game were the longest moments of Brooke's life. His eyes kept coming up to the stands to make sure she was still there and every time she would look down at her shoes pretending not to notice.

"Wow, 23 was so good at the beginning of the game. I wonder what happened." Julian thought out loud.

"Yeah…I wonder." Brooke replied. Knowing full well what had happened. He saw her. He saw the best friend that he hadn't seen in over a year. He had spent many nights worrying about her, she left without so much of a note. For all he knew she could have been dead and the day that she left, she took a part of him with her. Nobody could fill the spot in his heart that his best friend used to hold. The final buzzer rang and Nathan Scott took for the stands. When Brooke saw Nathan coming toward her she got butterflies in her stomach. She didn't know what was about to happen but suddenly she was nervous. She knew he would be furious.

"Julian, I need a moment. I'll be right back okay?" Brooke decided she would meet him half way. This was not something she wanted Julian to witness, so she headed down the stairs. When she reached Nathan he grabbed her and held her so tight she thought he'd never let go.

"Bee. What the hell happened to you? Do you know how mad at you I should be right now?" Brooke held her breathe this is what she was waiting for, she knew he'd be mad. "I can't be mad though, I'm just so happy you're okay."

"I missed you so much" Brooke mumbled into Nathan's shirt as a few tears slipped from her eye. Brooke pulled away from him and looked up. "I'm sorry Nate. For everything."

"God Brooke. There's so much I want to ask you. Can we go out to eat or something? I don't fly out until the morning. I can't leave knowing you're here without spending time with you."

"I'm kind of on a date right now." Brooke said. She knew she needed to avoid this. If she spent time with him, she'd want to go back.

"Brooke. Go finish your date and then come to my hotel." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Okay." She whispered admitting defeat and watching Nathan head toward the locker rooms with the rest of his team. Brooke turned around and started looking for Julian in the crowd and when she spotted him she could already tell he was angry.

"Who was that?" Julian spat out right when she returned to him. Brooke had yet to see this side of him; the jealousy was evident in his voice.

"He's just a friend from home. I haven't seen him since graduation."

"Looked like more than a friend to me. I mean he held onto you for dear life." Julian seemed really angry, more than just jealous.

"Well since I haven't seen him in a while he really missed me. It's not a big deal, okay?" Brooke was starting to get aggravated with Julian's new attitude.

"Whatever, let's just go home. I'll drop you off."

"Actually, I'm gonna go visit with Nathan so I'll just wait for him to finish in the locker room and he'll take me home later." Brooke started to head down the bleachers when she saw Nathan emerge from the locker room.

Julian grabbed Brooke's arm a little too tightly and spun her around. "What is it with this Nathan guy. One night he's here and your already falling under his spell. The athletes always get the girls."

"First of all, I'm not falling under his spell. He is JUST A FRIEND." Brooke yelled at him. "Second of all, you do not get to decide who I hang out with. I've known him for years and we have a lot to talk about. Ecspecially Jason."

"Oh, so that's what this is. He's your bastard son's father." The second those words came out of Julian's mouth, Brooke reached up and slapped him across the face.

"Don't! Don't you dare go there Julian!" Brooke was seething at this point. Julian grabbed her arm even harder and pulled her closer to him. "We. We are done."

"Don't blame me for this. You're the one that's never told me about his father. So all of this is your fault." Julian now pushed her away causing her stumble down the stairs. "Bitch" he mumbled as he turned to leave.

Nathan had seen enough and started heading toward Brooke the second he saw this guy grab her arm, the next thing he knew he saw him push her down the stairs and that was it he lost it. Nathan ran up to Julian and grabbed him by the collar. "Don't you ever touch her again. Do you understand me?"

Julian was not expecting this and you could tell by the scared gleam in his eye. "Fuck you. You don't know anything" Julian would regret these words as Nathan pulled back and punched him straight in the nose. Brooke ran up and grabbed onto Nathan trying to stop him knowing this would soon turn ugly. She had seen many fights with Nathan and knew he never backed down.

"Nathan stop." When he reached back and punched him again she knew stopping him would be hard. "Natey please. I need you." Brooke knew using his childhood nickname would snap him back to reality.

"Your one lucky asshole." Nathan threw Julian took the ground and turned around to see Brooke with tears in her eyes. "Come on Bee. Let's get out of here." He took her hand and they walked out of the arena.

"So. Where do you wanna go?" Brooke asked, breaking the awkward silence that had formed between the two.

"I have to be back at the hotel in an hour, so I don't know what options that really leaves us." Nathan didn't want to ever leave Brooke's side. "We could get take out and head back to my hotel and just catch up."

"Wow, Scott. Trying to get me into your hotel room already?" Brooke kinked her eyebrow at Nathan and then they both burst out laughing. "A night in sounds like just what I need."


	3. Chapter 3

A half hour later the duo entered Nathan's hotel room with a bag of Chinese food, soda, chips, and a pie of pizza. Brooke flopped on the bed as Nathan started taking out all the food and putting it on the bed next to her. Once they both started eating they both looked at eachother knowing there were so many questions to be asked.

"So how have you been Nate? And Tutorwife?" Brooke decided to ask the first questions and break the silence first. Hoping maybe if they started talking about Tree Hill and the people at home, Nathan wouldn't ask about her.

"Haley and I are extremely happy. She's obviously doing great a Duke and she recorded another album, it's gonna be released soon. There's a big chance I'll be drafted by the end of next year." Nathan smiled. It was evident to Brooke how happy they were. It made her wish she was a part of that happiness too.

"That's so great Nathan. How is everyone else? Mouth? Karen?"

"Brooke. As much as I know you want hear about everyone. We need to talk about you for a minute okay?" This is exactly what Brooke didn't want to happen. She didn't want him to start asking questions because frankly, she didn't have the answers he was looking for.

"Nathan. I know you have a lot of questions but I don't know if I have the answers I'm looking for." Brooke looked down at her hands and began fidgeting. This was a nervous habit of hers and Nathan knew it.

"Brooke. Don't be nervous. I'm not mad, I just need to know why. Why did you leave without a word? We had no idea where you went or if you were okay. Haley and I searched for you for weeks and eventually we had to give up but that didn't mean we haven't worried about you every day since."

"It was too hard to stay." Brooke sighed. " Look Nate, I knew if I told you and Haley where I was going or why you would try to convince me to stay or come find me. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep in contact and not spending everyday wanting to come home."

"But why did you have to leave and never come back? That's the part that I don't understand."

"I couldn't face seeing them." Brooke whispered.

"Lucas and Peyton?" Nathan asked and Brooke just nodded her head.

"It just hurt so much. It still does…" Brooke mumbled. Nathan pulled her into a hug and let her cry until she looked up at him and he could see the scared look in her eyes. "Nate. I have to tell you something."

"What is it Brooke?"

"A few weeks after I moved here I found out I was 4 months pregnant." Brooke took a deep breathe, she didn't know how to tell him this. "I have a son Nathan. He's turning one this week." To say Nathan looked shocked was an understatement. He just sat there and didn't move, he had no idea what to say. "Say something."

"I don't know what to say." After a few more seconds of silence, Nathan couldn't help but ask the question that had been on his mind since she told him. "Is Luke the father?" When Brooke shook her head no she was hoping Nathan wouldn't ask the next question, but he did. "Then who is?"

"Um. You don't know him." Brooke knew Nathan would see right through this lie but she had to try.

Nathan raised his eyebrows and looked at her. "Brooke. You were still in Tree Hill when it happened. There's no one back home I don't know."

"Please Nate, it's too hard to talk about. It still hurts so much. Please don't tell anyone from home anything."

"You know I won't Bee, but you should call Haley she misses you like crazy and a phone call from you would do wonders."

"I will." Brooke smiled to know that Haley missed her so much, she was always afraid they would forget about her once she was gone. Both of them sat and ate in silence for a minute.

"So, wanna tell me about the jerk from the game?" Nathan broke the silence knowing that Brooke wouldn't tell him something unless he asked, she hated opening up to people. Even him.

"I dated him for a little while but we're obviously over now." Brooke hoped Nathan would leave it at that but knew he probably wouldn't.

"Brooke. What happened at the game before I came over?"

She could never hide anything from Nathan, aside from Peyton he knew her better than anyone else. "I really liked him. I thought he was a great guy. He was the first guy I dated since Lucas and we all know how that one turned out. God, why am I such an idiot? I'm never gonna just find someone who loves me. I always just end up hurt." Brooke could feel the tears starting to form in her eyes but refused to let them fall. She would wait until she was alone to let them go, like she had been doing for years now.

Nathan pulled her into him, "You're not an idiot, far from it. They're the stupid ones." He whispered into her hair as she let herself lean into him. Brooke drifted off to sleep in the comfort of her friend's arms. When she woke up a couple hours later she was in a panic realizing what time it was. She knew she had to go but didn't want to wake Nathan so instead she grabbed the pen and paper next to the phone and left him a note:

_I had to get home to Jason and didn't want to wake you. I really missed you  
and am so glad I got to see you tonight. I promise to keep in touch this time._

_ I Love You Natey!_

_ Xoxo  
Brooke_

With that she ran out of the hotel room and headed home, it was 4am and Rachel was going to kill her. She walked into her apartment and fell asleep right away knowing she didn't have long until Jason woke up. Like every other day, when 6am rolled around she heard muffled cries come from the room next to hers. She quickly got out of bed trying not to disturb Rachel and got up to get her son. She got him fed and clothed ahead of schedule so she out him in his play pen and took a seat on the couch, she had only been up for an hour and already needed a break.

"Hey slut." Rachel sat on the couch next to her. "You were out late with Julian last night"

"Actually we broke up by the end of the basketball game he took me to." It sounded weird to say. Brooke still couldn't believe last night actually happened.

"Wait, so then where were you all night?"

"I spent the night with an old friend from home. He was in town so we just went back to his hotel room and caught up on everything."

Rachel eyed Brooke suspiciously. "So you started off the night with one guy and ended it in another's hotel room?"

" Pretty much. Thanks again for last night Rach. I gotta get going to work though." Brooke scooped up Jason and headed out the door before Rachel could ask more questions about her night. She didn't want to think about it right now. After dropping her son off at daycare Brooke got on the subway for her half hour ride to work.

"It's now or never." Brooke mumbled to herself as she took out her phone and went through the contacts looking for the right number. As the phone rang there were butterflies in Brooke's stomach. To say she was nervous was an understatement, this phone call could either go really well or be a complete disaster.

"B…Brooke?" The second Brooke heard her best friend's voice she realized how much she missed her.

"Tutorgirl! It's so nice to hear your voice. I miss you so much!"

"I miss you too. But where the hell have you been!? Do you know how worried we were!? Just wait til I tell Nathan you called."

"Hales, you're rambling." Brooke couldn't help but smile at her friend's old habit.

"Sorry. But you better start giving me some answers Brooke, it's been over a year!" Haley had that certain tone in her voice that made Brooke know she meant business.

"Okay well. I live in New York now…"

"Wait." Haley cut her off. "So that's why you're calling, you saw Nathan didn't you?"

"Ya know Hales, you're too smart for your own good." This earned a little chuckle from Haley, giving Brooke hope that maybe she wasn't all that mad at her. "What have you been up to?"

"No. Don't avoid the subject Brooke. Why did you leave without saying anything? I was so worried." Brooke and Haley continued to talk for the next half hour and then again when Brooke got home from work. Brooke told Haley about Jason and Haley was really excited to meet him. Haley told Brooke all about college life and both avoided the subject of Lucas and Peyton. That night as she got Jason ready for bed all she kept thinking about was home.


	4. Chapter 4

The next week everyone went back to their normal lives and it flew by. Haley and Brooke talked on the phone almost every night. Today was Jason's birthday and Brooke thought about how if she was home there would be a huge party for his birthday with cake, lots of presents, and tons of people who love her and her son. Instead though it would be a quiet day where her and Rachel took him to the park and then they'd go out to lunch and maybe have some cake later. There would be a couple of presents from her and probably one from Rachel. Brooke wished she had more money to spend on spoiling her son but it was expensive to live in the city and she was just a waitress.

Brooke was broken out of her thoughts when her phone rang "Hey Rachel, are you almost here?"

"Sorry Brooke, I can't make it. I just got called into work. I'm really sorry, you guys will have fun though and I'll stop by later to drop off Jay's present."

"Alright. Just call me later." Brooke was disappointed. After her and Jason went to the park he was exhausted so they just went back to the apartment so he could take a nap. Brooke decided she would try to bake a cake for her son. After throwing together all the ingredients she put the cake in the oven right as she sat down the phone rang. She smiled when she saw the called ID.

"Hey Hales!" Brooke really needed to talk to her best friend right now.

"Hey Brooke! How's the little guy's birthday going? Having lots of fun?" Haley asked.

"Not really, it's just the two of us and he's taking a nap." Brooke huffed.

"What's wrong with that?"  
"Hales, I couldn't even afford to get him presents. He's having the worst birthday ever and when you turn 1 it's kind of a big deal."

"Look, he won't even remember the day and in the pictures he'll just see that he was happily playing with his mom."

"Yeah, his mom. The only person he knows. He's one years old and he only really knows me. My friend Rachel from work babysits him every once in a while but that's about it. Hales, I want him to grow up knowing that there are people that love him. Something I never had."

"You know me and Nate love him. Even though we haven't met him you know that we'd do anything for you and him. Maybe it's time I made a trip to New York."

"You don't have to do that. You have a life. You can't just come up here for a weekend randomly."

"You are the most important person to me Brooke. Nothing else matters if you need me." Haley was extremely worried about her best friend right now.

"No I'm okay. I've just been missing home lately. I miss my old life where I had people to care about me. Most importantly I miss having my family." Brooke sighed. She was feeling down lately, she really did miss home.

"Brooke. Are you happy in New York?" Right as Haley spoke Brooke heard Jason cry.

"Sorry Hales, I gotta go. The birthday boy is up. Bye." She hung up quickly and went to get her son. She picked him up and swung him around. "Hello sweet boy. How is your birthday going? You like spending time with mommy?" He giggled and then leaned into his mother's shoulder. "Well I'll take that as a yes. So who wants some birthday cake?"

Brooke put her son in his high chair. She put a piece of cake in front of her son and started snapping pictures as he dug in. She whipped out her phone and took a picture of her son covered in icing and cake and sent the picture to Nathan and Haley saying "Wishing you were here to celebrate xoxo"

"Wish I was there too Bee." A reply from Nathan came back instantly.

"Next year I promise we'll celebrate together." Haley assured her friend.

"Hear that baby, Aunt Haley and Uncle Nathan love you. They love us." Brooke teared up at the thought of her friends. Rachel came into the apartment moments later yelling.

"Where's my little birthday boy!"

"In here Rach." When Rachel came into the room she scooped up Jason and held him tight.

"Who wants to open preeeseeents?" Rachel seemed more excited about the presents than Jason was. She put the boy in her lap and placed the present in his. He began ripping at the paper and when he finally got it off the present he put it on his head and began hitting it around. "Great. He likes the wrapping paper more than the actual present."

"It's great Rachel, thanks really." Brooke smiled at her friend.

"Yeah. Whatever. As fun as this is, I'm out of here. There's a party tonight." Rachel kissed Jason goodbye and then gave Brooke a hug. "Bye!"

"Yeah nice of you to spend time with us." Brooke mumbled. She really was alone. Her one friend here didn't even want to give up one party to spend her son's first birthday with him. Brooke spent the rest of the night thinking about her life in New York. At around 1, she still couldn't fall asleep and was miserable. She picked up her phone and called the only person she could think of.

"Brooke? Are you okay? It's 1 am!"

"Yeah. Well, no not really."

"What is it, what's wrong?"

"I wanna come home Natey." She felt a tear slip down her face.

"Well you know you could always stay with us. We have a spare bedroom." It broke Nathan's heart to hear his childhood best friend so broken.

"I wouldn't want to impose. But I'm just so lonely here."

"Come home Bee, we miss you and I want to get to know my nephew."

"You mean your godson." Brooke smiled. She had decided the day Jason was born Haley and Nathan would be the godparents.

"B…Brooke. Are you serious?"

"Of course Nate. You and Haley are my best friends I wouldn't want anyone else to be my son's godparents. Just don't tell Haley I wanna tell her myself."

"I won't. Take some time and think about coming home. We miss you. I'll talk to you in the morning though."

"I will. Love you Natey."

"You too Bee."


	5. Chapter 5

After getting off the phone with Nathan, Brooke fell right asleep. When she woke up all she could think about was going to Tree Hill. She went through her day like she normally did. It had been a long day. Bills were due this week and she only made 100 dollars in tips even though she work for 8 hours.

"I'm going home." Brooke said to no one in particular. Brooke began to look around her apartment. Jason had just gone to bed but she was wide awake. She went in her closet and pulled out all the suitcases and bags she could find. First she packed all her clothes then continued into the bathroom and packed everything she could fit in the bag from her make up to some of Jason's bath toys. Brooke walked around the living room and kitchen looking for any essentials. She took some picture frames down and a few of Jason's DVDs and threw them in a bag. It was now 1 am but Brooke was far from tired. Instead of going to bed she curled up on the couch to watch re runs of Full House. After a couple of hours she slowly drifted to sleep but was woken up bright and early by Jason.

"Good Morning baby." Brooke scooped up Jason and started to change his diaper. "How did you sleep last night? A lot better than mommy huh?" she laughed. After getting him into clean clothes and putting him in his high chair with some cheerios. Brooke began to pack up Jason's clothes and pretty much all of his toys while he ate. Once she was done she cleaned up Jason and brought him into her room with her. She put him on the bed so he could watch TV while she got ready. As Fresh Beat Band blasted through the apartment Brooke walked around once more to make sure she had everything her and Jason needed.

"Let's go buddy." She picked up Jason and all of the bags to bring out to the car. Once they were all loaded up and ready to go Brooke turned around and looked at her son playing in his car seat. "It's time to go home." Brooke smiled thinking of Tree Hill. 14 hours later Jason was fast asleep and Brooke was exhausted as they passed the Welcome to Tree Hill sign. Brooke pulled into the first hotel she saw so she could get some rest before seeing everyone the next day.

The next morning when Brooke woke up she knew the first place she needed and wanted to go to. She once again loaded Jason into the car and drove to Nathan and Haley's apartment, when she parked in front of their place she looked around and then took a deep breath. Jason started to fuss so Brooke quickly broke out of her thoughts and went to ring the doorbell.

When Haley opened the door and saw Brooke standing in front of her she immediately yelled. "TIGGER!" Haley engulfed Brooke in a hug and then remembered the little boy sitting in her best friend's arms. "Oh my god. Is this Jason?!" Haley started tearing up seeing Jason for the first time.

"Jason, I would like you to meet you Aunt Haley." Brooke handed Jason over to Haley.

"Hello Jason, aren't you just the cutest thing? Well Aunt Haley loves you very much, oh yes she does." Brooke started to giggle at Haley interacting with her son. "I can't believe you're here."

"Well, I just thought it was time to finally come home." Brooke smiled and hugged Haley again. They walked into the apartment and took a seat in the living room to talk with Jason on the floor playing in front of them. "So, I was wondering. Does that offer to stay in your guest room for a little while still stand?" Brooke flashed her signature smile at Haley.

"Of course it does. Stay as long as you'd like. I'm just happy your back."

"Thanks tutorgirl. You're the best!"

"So there is one thing we need to talk about now that your home….Lucas and Peyton." Haley looked down at her hands knowing this was a touchy subject with Brooke.

"I know that coming home meant I'd have to face them again. I feel like I'm not ready to but I know I'll have to so when it happens, I'll be fine."

"Okay, well just so you know, they're not together anymore. They broke up a couple months ago."

"It doesn't matter to me anymore Hales. Really, I don't have feelings for him and Peyton used to be my best friend so as much as I hate her, I still just want her to be happy." Brooke secretly missed Peyton and the friendship they used to have but she would never admit it after everything Peyton's done to her. "So. Where's Nate?"

"He should be home around dinner time, he has practice until 5. What do you say we go out to lunch and then can go grocery shopping for something for dinner and anything else you or Jason might need."

"That sounds perfect. Let me just bring everything in from my car and change, you never know who your gonna run into around Tree Hill." Brooke smirked and Haley laughed at her friends antics. After getting ready Haley and Brooke got in the car and started to drive. "So Hales, where do you wanna go to eat?"

"Ummm now that you're back in town I know Karen would love to see you and Jason." Haley looked over at Brooke to try and sense her reaction. Going to see Karen meant that Lucas would find out she was back in town.

After a long sigh and thinking for a moment Brooke made a decision "You know what, I can't hide forever and I have missed Karen." She looked over at Haley and smiled to show her that she's okay with it.

"Great, cause here we are!" Haley parked the car and jumped out of the car and to the backseat to get Jason. The trio walked into the café to find a very unsuspecting Karen behind the counter. She stared at Brooke for a little longer than usual just to see if what she was seeing was real. Unlike Haley, she hadn't heard from Brooke since graduation almost a year and a half ago. "Hey Karen, look who I found." Haley tried to make a joke and lighten the mood a little.

"Brooke! Oh my god! Brooke Davis!" Karen came running from behind the counter. "I never thought I'd see you again"

Brooke held onto the woman that she always thought of as a second mother as she hugged her. "It's so nice to see you Karen, you have no idea."

"Brooke, where have you been?" there was no anger behind Karen's voice, only concern.

"Okay look Karen, I know you have a lot questions and I'm not really ready to open up to everyone about everything yet." Brooke explained to Karen as they walked over to a booth and sat down. "I had a broken heart and needed to leave, I couldn't handle it anymore. I went to New York City and worked as a waitress. I'm back though now, and I'm back for good. I don't know where I'll live or work yet, but I'll figure it out."

"I'm glad your back Brooke, and I know a lot of people are gonna be mad that you left but I always knew you would come back home so I wasn't worried." Karen always knew the right thing to say.

"Hey Brooke, sorry to interrupt but do you have a diaper in your purse, I think Jason needs to be changed." Haley interrupted their conversation.

"Oh yeah sorry Hales, I'll get it. Thanks." Brooke got up and took Jason to the bathroom to change him.

"Is that Brooke's son?" Karen whipped her head around and asked Haley. She expected Brooke to come home but certainly didn't expect her to come back with a child.

"Yeah. Jason Nathan Davis." Haley always smiled when she thought of Jason being named after her husband.

"How old is he? He looks pretty big."

"He's one years old."

"That means she was pregnant when she left…" Karen did the math and sat quietly thinking for a minute and then looked up at Haley. "Who's the father?"

"I don't know. She won't say, but she does say it's not Lucas'" Karen let out the breath she didn't even realize she was holding.

"Sorry about that Karen. Well so now you know I have a son." Brooke laughed coming back up to the table.

"He's adorable Brooke. Looks just like you." Karen tickled the little boy making him laugh. "I'll go grab some burgers and fries. Oh and I'll cut up some chicken fingers for my new favorite little boy." Karen soon returned with food and they talked for a while. Karen wanted to know all about New York and Jason and Brooke asked all about the café and Andy. Brooke and Haley left there and went to the grocery store. They bought kid friendly food for Jason and steaks to have a nice dinner that night to celebrate Brooke coming home.

When Nathan came home he heard his wife laughing from out on the deck. "Haley?" The noise from the deck disappeared so he figured he'd go see what was going on. "Hales?" He asked again as he walked out the door. As soon as he stepped out on to the deck he was greeted by someone throwing themselves at him, he looked down and saw a brunette girl holding onto him. He smiled knowing exactly who it was. "Who would have thought Brooke Davis would ever show her face in Tree Hill again?"

Brooke laughed "I just couldn't stay away from you any longer" she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Hey babe." Nathan walked over and kissed Haley on the cheek. "Mmmm what smells so good?"

"Steak!" Brooke jumped up and down and clapped her hands.

"Well I see your excited." Nathan and Haley both laughed.

"We're gonna go make the sides now that your home, so can you finish grilling and then just come inside when you're done." Haley asked Nathan.

"Of course." Nathan smiled. "Anything for my two favorite girls." Haley and Brooke both smiled and then linked arms to head inside. As soon as they walked in the door the heard Jason crying from the guest room, waking up from his nap. Brooke went and got Jason ready for dinner and then put him on the floor in the living room with some cars to play with while she went to help Haley finish getting dinner ready. Nathan walked into the house with a plate of steaks and put them on the counter but turned around quickly when he heard a crash from the living room. When he turned around he saw a little boy and approached him.

"Hello buddy, you must Jason." Nathan picked up the boy. "I'm your Uncle Nathan. I'm gonna teach you how to play basketball and get lots of girls."

Brooke laughed as she entered the room. "Nathan Scott, you better not corrupt my son." Both laughed and Nathan handed Jason over to Brooke. "Come on Scott, dinner's ready."


	6. Chapter 6

The three of them ate dinner and talked about old times. Brooke felt right at home, it was like she never left. This is where she belonged. After putting Jason down, they stayed up late watching a movie and when it was done Haley decided to go to sleep since she had an 8 am class to go to but Nathan didn't have any classes until 2. That was one of the perks of being the star of the basketball team, Nathan always got his first picks of classes. Once Haley went into bed Brooke got up to get some ice cream she bought from the store earlier that day.

"Hey Nate, you want some?"

"Duh!" They both laughed as Brooke scooped them both huge bowls of ice cream to eat.

"Mmmm this is so good." Brooke plopped down on the couch next to Nathan and handed him his bowl.

"So Brooke, I want to talk to you about something, and I want you to be honest with me, okay?" Nathan suddenly turned serious and it made Brooke nervous.

"Of course. What's up?"

"Look I know when I came to New York you said Jason's father wasn't Lucas and I believe you I do, but who is his father then? You didn't want to talk about it then and I didn't push you to but you can't hide it forever you know that right?"

"Nnnate." Brooke avoided eye contact with Nathan. This was something she didn't want to talk about. Not now, not ever.

"I need you to open up to me Bee." Nathan took her hand and squeezed it. "What happened?"

"Nathan. You'll never look at me the same way again."

"You've been my best friend since we were kids, nothing is gonna change that."

"Okay, well the end of March was when I first had suspicions of Lucas and Peyton going behind my back. I was really upset and decided to go out with Rachel one night. We went to that bar right outside of Tree Hill in Pickerington and Rachel got really drunk and ended up going home with some guy so I was left there alone and without a car. There had been some guy hitting on me in the bar but I was with Lucas so I obviously kept blowing him off. When I finally had had enough of it I decided to leave and called a taxi. It was taking a while to get there so I was just standing outside and the guy followed me outside. He wouldn't leave me alone and then he…he…" Brooke had tears streaming down her face. She hadn't talked about this with anyone.

"Oh my god Bee. Come here." Nathan pulled her into a hug and held her as she cried. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"That night, he left me in the alley. I had blood on my face and bruises all over the rest of me. I called Lucas while I was laying there and he didn't pick up. So I decided I was just going to take the taxi like I originally was going to." Brooke kept choking on her words as she spoke and after every word she said Nathan clenched his fists, he wanted to kill this guy. "I didn't want to go home alone, I was scared and just wanted Lucas. No needed Lucas. I took the taxi to his house and when I walked up to his house I heard a girl giggling through the door, so before I walked into his room I looked in the window and that's when I saw them. That's when all my suspicions were confirmed and I saw Peyton on top of him shirtless."

"I'm so sorry Brooke. So sorry." Nathan just kept stroking her hair trying to her down. He didn't know what to do, but all he wanted was to help the broken girl in front of him. He lifted her chin so she was looking at him. "I want you to know, this changes nothing. This just shows me that your even stronger than I already thought."

"I don't feel so strong right now. This whole past year I haven't felt so strong."

"You are. Stronger than anyone else I know Brooke Davis. Don't ever doubt that." Nathan got up to get Brooke some water. "I just have one question. What are you going to tell everyone else?"

"I don't think I can go through telling that story again." Brooke sighed and took a sip of her water, she was calming down now. "I'm just not going to tell anyone else what happened." They both sat in silence for a moment not knowing what to say, it had been a long night.

"What about Haley? She's going to want to know."

"Maybe you can just tell her what happened?" Brooke smirked at Nathan.

"You know I'd do anything you want, so if that's what you then I will." Nathan gave her one last hug. "It's been a long night I think it's time we turned in."

"I think you're right. Night Natey. Love you"

"Night Bee. Love you too." The next morning Brooke woke up and when she looked at her clock she realized it was almost noon. She jumped out of bed in a panic, Jason never slept passed 6 am so neither did she. When Brooke ran out into the main part of the apartment no one was there. One the counter she noticed a piece of paper.

_Going to work out at the Rivercourt, bringing Jason._

_ Enjoy some time to yourself and then come meet up_

_ With us later._

_ ~Nathan_

Brooke smiled, she knew she made the right choice coming home, her friends were going to help her now. She was going to have to raise Jason all alone anymore. Brooke took a nice long shower and then went to meet Jason and Nathan at the Rivercourt, she decided she would bring lunch with her and on her way Haley called to see what they were doing and met them there as well. The four of them had a picnic by the water. Jason started to get fussy so Brooke took him home leaving Nathan and Haley to have some time to hang out.

When Haley walked into the apartment Brooke could tell Nathan had told her about Jason's father just by the way she was looking at her. "Brooke. I'm so so sorry. I wish I could have helped you." Haley had tears in her eyes as she embraced her best friend.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just couldn't. It's still too hard to talk about."

"I understand. Just no more secrets okay missy?" Haley shook her finger at Brooke and they both started laughing. As they were laughing the front door opened.

"Hey Hales. Wha…" a certain blue eyed blonde walked through the door and stopped when he noticed who Haley was laughing with. Both Haley and Brooke froze at the sound of his voice and Brooke refused to turn around, she wasn't ready to face him yet.


	7. Author's Note

Hey Everyone! I'm glad so many people have shown an interest in this story, it's the first I've ever written. I have many ideas about what I want to do next with the story and have some written already. It may be a little while before I update but I will as soon as I can get some time. I live in Northern NJ which as you've probably all seen on the news isn't doing so well right now. Thankfully my home has been restored power now but many in my town have not so people are coming and going to shower, eat, and do laundry so hopefully in a couple days I'll have some time to update. Sorry guys!

~Vicky


	8. Chapter 7

**Like I said before sorry for the lack of updates, Sandy was not very pleasant to my town. I wanted to get this up tonight though before we unfortunately get hit with a snow storm. Fingers crossed that we don't lose power again. Anyway, I promise to try and update more regularly I have so many ideas as to where to go with this story, your opinions are welcome as well! Hope you like this next chapter! **

"Hey Luke." Haley stood between her two closest friends and had no idea what to say to ease the tension.

"Yeah, hi Lucas." Brooke finally said after gathering the courage to turn around and look at him. She smiled but then looked down at the floor not knowing how to handle the situation.

"Uh, hi Brooke. I'll just um come back later Haley." Lucas turned around to leave.

"Wait!" Brooke called out. "You don't have to leave, I was just gonna go shower anyway." With that Brooke left the room.

"What the hell Hales?!" Lucas turned to Haley as soon as Brooke was out of earshot.

"What?" Haley tried to play innocent but new exactly what he meant.

"How could you not tell me she was back?" Lucas was fuming. "How long have you been hiding this from me anyway? Didn't you think I deserved to know?"

"First of all, don't get mad at me for any of this." Haley did not like the tone he was taking with her and he sure as hell was about to know it. "Second of all. You deserved to know?! Are you kidding me Lucas! You cheated on HER with HER best friend and you think you deserve anything where she's concerned. Well think again because you have done nothing in regards to Brooke to even so much as deserve to be in the same room as her. I have kept my mouth shut about everything because you and I have been friends forever but don't think for one second I am going to let you yell at me when you are completely in the wrong." Brooke was listening from her room down the hall and smiled at her best friend's loyalty to her.

"Well, if having Brooke back in town is gonna make everyone start shutting me out I guess I'm getting what I fucking deserve isn't it, Hales?" Lucas stormed out of the apartment and slammed the door waking Jason up.

Brooke came walking out of the room with Jason in her arms. "Thanks, you didn't have to do that."

"Don't worry about it. It's about time somebody told him the truth." Haley shrugged and walked into her room. It was a quiet evening in the Scott apartment, Nathan played with Jason while Haley and Brooke talked and looked through pictures. The next morning when they all woke up they decided to have a big breakfast and made French toast, eggs, bacon, and sausage.

"This is so good girls." Nathan was shoving food in his mouth. Brooke and Haley both laughed at him, he could eat so much sometimes.

"So what do you guys wanna do on this wonderful Saturday?" Haley asked, always wanting to have everything planned.

"I don't know. We could just go to the park or something." Brooke said, not wanting to do anything big, or expensive.

"Okay, I'll make sandwiches and we can have a picnic!" Haley was excited but that ended quickly when there was a knock on the door. All three of them looked at the door, they weren't expecting anyone. Nathan got up to answer it.

"Hey man." Lucas stood at the door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, but enter at your own risk." Nathan opened the door to let him and then went and took Jason. "I'm just gonna take him and go in the bedroom. Play nice girls." Nathan winked at Haley and Brooke who were both still sitting at the table.

"I just wanted to apologize for everything I said yesterday, I was way out of line and neither of you deserved it." Lucas approached the table slowly as he spoke. "I know there's no excuse for how I acted but I was completely caught off guard, I mean no mention of Brooke in over a year and then BAM! She's sitting in your living room when I stop by for a visit."

"I'm sorry too." Brooke whispered, breaking the awkward silence. She still didn't know how to act around Lucas but she knew she'd have to talk to him eventually.

"I am too." Brooke looked up when Lucas said that and their eyes met and both just sat there staring at each other for a moment too long.

"I'm gonna let you two talk and go find Nathan." Haley got up and scurried out of the room. The moment she left an awkward silence filled the room. Neither Lucas nor Brooke knew what to say to each other. It has been over a year since they had seen each other at graduation and even longer since they had talked. Lucas had broken her heart at a time when she needed him most.

"So, how have you been Brooke?" Lucas sat down at the table across from her taking some food and beginning to eat.

Brooke sat there for a moment trying to decide how to respond. She could either blow up at him and let out all her pent up anger, or she could be polite and take the high road. She decided to be the better person and not bring up everything from the past, "I'm not gonna lie, it's been hard on my own but I'm doing okay. I'm just happy to be home now. The city's great but such a big place can get awfully lonely at times."

"I'm glad your home too Brooke. I mean Tree Hill isn't the same without the infamous Brooke Davis." Both laughed glad they were able to talk without it being weird.

"So how are things with you Luke? I hear you've been sending your book out to publishers, hear anything back yet?"

"Haley tell you that?" Brooke nodded her head and smiled at Lucas. "Of course she did. No, I haven't heard anything back yet. I'm an unknown author sending out my first book. Chances are that no one will ever actually read it."

"Hey. I'm sure it's a good book and all it takes is one person to read it and I know they'll fall in love with it." Brooke was always had a way of boosting everyone else's confidence.

"Thanks." Lucas smiled, he really had missed Brooke. "So what was your favorite part about New York?"

"How many people there are there."

"You always have been a people person." Lucas laughed.

"It wasn't that. You could walk around for hours and never see anyone you knew. You didn't have to worry about when you met someone new if they already had ideas about you, if they already knew stories about you." Brooke shrugged. "It's nice to not have everyone judge you before actually getting to know you. I got to leave behind the idea that I was nothing but a brainless slut."

"Hey. Not everyone in Tree Hill thinks that." Lucas reached across and grabbed her hand. "Especially me."

"Oh right. You may have not thought I was a slut, but you certainly thought I was brainless."

"Brooke? How could you say that?" Lucas sat back in her chair and braced himself for the outburst he knew was coming next.

"Well you sure didn't think I had the brains to figure out you were sleeping with my best friend. And you certainly didn't think I had feelings because you sure didn't care what I would feel like when I did find out." Brooke was now screaming at him.

"Brooke…I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen like that. I loved you!" Lucas was now getting heated too.

"You didn't mean for it to happen?! Are you kidding me right now Lucas! You don't just accidentally fall into bed with someone, especially not when you have a girlfriend." Brooke started to walk away when she turned around. "Don't ever try to tell me that you loved me again. Because I loved you Lucas and the things you did to me, I wouldn't have ever even thought of. When you love someone you don't hurt them like that. It is absolutely unforgivable." Brooke went into her room and slammed her door. Once the door slammed Lucas just stood there in shock not knowing what to do. Should he go after her? Or should he leave her alone to cool down a little before he tries to talk to her again.


	9. Chapter 8

After Lucas stood there for a little while, Nathan came out of his bedroom. "Is everything okay out here? We heard some yelling."

"I…I don't k now." Lucas was still shocked by Brooke's sudden outburst just moments ago.

"Why do you and I go play some ball at the Rivercourt and give the girls some space to talk, alright?" Nathan figured the best plan would be to get Lucas out of the apartment so Brooke didn't have to see him. The moment Brooke heard the door close she picked up Jason and headed across the hall to Haley's room.

"What happened, sweetie?" Haley asked as Brooke layed down on the bed and buried her head in the pillow.

"Lucas Scott is an ass. That's what happened."

Haley couldn't help but laugh at this statement. "Well maybe now that you guys got some fighting out of the way you can work toward being friends?" Brooke just looked up at Haley not saying a word. "Or not…" Haley quickly added realizing how much of a bad mood Brooke was in. "You know what this calls for?"

"Jumping off the deck?" Brooke added sarcastically.

"Always such the dramatic." Haley shook her head. "I was thinking more along the lines of ice cream, cookie dough, and a good romantic comedy." Brooke couldn't help but smile, Haley always knew exactly what she needed. "Come on Brooke. You go pick out a movie and I'll get the snacks from the kitchen."

A couple hours later the girls had finished watching their movie and were sitting on the floor playing with cars with Jason when they heard the boys approaching. "I guess I'm gonna have to face him again eventually." Brooke huffed, really not wanting to see Lucas.

"Hey guys. Is it cool if we join you for dinner?" Nathan slowly walked in the door and let Lucas in behind him. Hoping that everyone had cooled down from before.

"Yeah that's fine." Brooke smiled, not wanting any problems. Jason smashed one of his cars into Haley's and both started laughing. In that moment Lucas' eyes darted to the floor and his mouth dropped open. Brooke and Nathan exchanged a look realizing what had just happened, Lucas didn't know about Jason yet.

"Who's kid is that…?" Lucas whispered, already knowing the answer but not wanting it to be true. Nobody answered him. "I said, who's son is that?" Lucas voice began to get louder and angrier.

"He's my son." Brooke stepped toward Lucas and put her arm on his shoulder but he instantly brushed it off.

"And how old is he?"

"1" Brooke looked down knowing where this was headed. Lucas paused for a moment to think, clearly doing the math in his head.

"Are you fucking kidding me Brooke?" Lucas was now screaming at her and Haley quickly left the room with Jason. "How could you never tell me about him? Did you think I wanted to be the next Dan Scott! I always hated him and you knew that better than anyone but you turned me into him without me even knowing about it. How could you be such a selfish bitch to not tell me about him. I had a right to know!" Lucas was getting right in Brooke's face as he yelled at her.

"You lost the right to know anything about my life when you slept with my best friend!" Brooke yelled back, tears stinging at the back of her eyes.

"Don't use that as an excuse to hide behind. Besides it's not about your life, it's about his. And mine!" Nathan had had enough at this point. His fists were clenched and blood boiling, how dare Lucas talk to Brooke this way when he knew nothing about the situation.

Nathan grabbed Lucas by the collar and shoved him up against the wall. "Don't you ever talk to her that way! Especially not in my house! You don't know what you're talking about and you're making extremely wrong assumptions. Now I want you to get your scrawny ass out of here before I throw you out." You could see the anger in Nathan's face and Lucas had never seen anything quite like it. The second Nathan let go of him, he headed for the door. The second he walked out the door Nathan spoke again. "He's not yours by the way." And with that Nathan slammed the door in his brother's face.

"Not mine?" Lucas mumbled to himself standing shocked right outside the apartment.

Inside the apartment Brooke had fallen to the ground sobbing uncontrollably. Nathan ran over to pick her up and he moved her to the couch where he held her as she cried. "Bee. Shhhh. You're okay. I'm not gonna Lucas come anywhere near you or his ass is dead."

"He was right Nate." Brooke looked up at him and it broke his heart to see her so broken. "I am selfish. I left all of you, not just him behind and I didn't think about what it would do to you guys."

"We understand why you left. It was something you had to do for yourself. All that matters is your back now, okay?" Nathan always had the right words to make her feel better.

"Yeah." Brooke smiled. "I need to go check on my boy."

When Brooke went into the room with Jason, Haley came back out. "This is not going to be good." Nathan just shook his head and brought Haley into a hug. Brooke emerged from the bedroom and placed Jason on the floor to play with his toys.

"Why don't I go pick us up some Chinese or something and we just stay in tonight?" Brooke half smiled at the happy couple wishing she had that.

"I'll go run out and get it; I have to stop at the library real quick anyway." Haley picked up her purse and headed out the door. "I'll be back in a little." As Haley walked into the library she saw very familiar sandy blonde hair sticking out over the top of one of the book shelves. "Hey." She said as she approached him.

"I'm surprised your talking to me." Lucas mumbled still not making eye contact with Haley.

"If I had half a mind I wouldn't be. You Lucas Scott are an ass." Haley put her hands on her hips waiting for him to explain.

"I know. I should have let her explain it's just when I saw him and thought he was mine, I just lost it. I wasn't thinking right at all. I know she wouldn't have ever done that to me but it hurt like hell to think she might have."

"Well maybe you should tell her that."

"Yeah right, like she's ever going to talk to me again." Lucas looked down and nervously started playing with his hands.

"You know Brooke better than most Luke; you know she has the biggest heart. Just give her a little time." Haley gave him a pat on the back and continued on his way. The trio had a good night just laughing and watching movies. Just like old times.

"I'm gonna start job searching tomorrow, I should be able to find something. I won't be a mooch forever I promise." They all laughed.

"I don't have class until late tomorrow Bee, I'll take Jason with me to the gym. Coach won't mind and besides he's a good boy." Nathan wanted to help her out any way he could.

"Thanks Nate, that'd be great." Brooke loved her friends, she didn't know how she lasted so long without them.


	10. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Keep the reviews coming, it motivates me to write more and your opinions are always welcome. I know this chapter is short, but it's one you guys have all been waiting for. Major Brucas! Enjoy!**

The next morning Brooke spent hours walking into every restaurant and store she could find applying for jobs as a cashier or waitress. Brooke had a lot to think about; seeing Lucas had stirred up so many feelingsshe had tried so hard to move past since high school. Just a couple minutes after she saw him again all the memories of how good they were together came flooding back. She knew she still loved him even after everything they had been through. But when he found out about Jason he just jumped to conclusions reminding her how much he had hurt her too. That was something she would never be able to forget no matter how much she loved him. After wandering around the streets of Tree Hill Brooke ended up at one of her favorite places to come think, the Rivercourt. She took a seat on the bench and just thought for a while until she was broken out of those thoughts by the sound of a basketball and footsteps approaching. When she turned around she was shocked to see Lucas standing there.

Lucas had no idea what to say to Brooke. He was such an ass the last time that he saw her. "Hey."

"Hi." Brooke answered timidly, not really sure of what to do.

"Ummm well I guess I just wanted to say that um I'm sorry for last night." Lucas looked down at his hands and fumbled around with the basketball trying not to make eye contact. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and should have given you a chance to explain first."

"Yeah. You should have." Brooke was still angry from last night and wasn't going to let it go that easily.

"Can we pretend like that never happened? Rewind and start over?"

"No. We can't Luke. You said some really mean things last night and you're supposed to be one of the few people that know the real me so hearing the boy I love rip me apart just made it hurt so much more." Brooke stood up getting ready to walk away. She was done with this conversation.

"The boy you love?" Lucas couldn't help but smile. Even though she was mad at him Brooke still reffered to him as the boy she loves not loved. This just made Brooke walk away faster realizing what she had done. "Come on Brooke, talk to me about it."

"Talk to you Luke? What do you want me to say? Do you want me to sit here and tell you how I spent the last year trying to get over you but no matter what I did the pain you caused me just wouldn't go away? Or how the second I saw you the other day all my old feelings I had finally started to get over came rushing back to me? And how I hate you so much for what you did to me, but I hate that fact that I still love you no matter how hard I try not to? Is that what you want to hear Luke? You broke my heart, but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't love you. And that is the worst part." Brooke was trying hard not to cry because she knew the second she let one tear slip away, they'd all start flowing.

"Brooke." Lucas reached out to touch her arm and comfort her but she pulled away. "I wish I could go back in time. I really do. I wish I could take back all that stuff with Peyton because in the end, none of it was worth loosing you. Nobody will ever compare to you and I will never be able to love anyone the way that I did you."

"That's nice Lucas, but what you did is unforgivable. Peyton was my best friend and you were my boyfriend. You two were the most important people in my life and I lost you both in one day. You can't even begin to understand the pain that I felt. I have never felt so alone in the world. I was never good enough for my parents and you taught me that that didn't matter, that I was still good enough for you but then you slept with someone else and that just confirmed all I had felt my entire life." Brooke had lost it at this point, tears were streaming down her face.

"You were always good enough for me Brooke. You are gorgeous, loyal, smart, dedicated, responsible…" Lucas started walking towards Brooke as he continued. "You can be stubborn and worry too much about what other people think but I've never met someone with a bigger heart." Lucas reached Brooke and tipped her head up so she was looking him right in the eye. "You are the perfect girl for me Brooke Davis. I know you can't trust me right now but I will do everything I have to to earn it back. I promise I won't hurt you again, but I need you take a chance on me."

"I..I don't think I can do that Luke, not now." Brooke didn't know what to say. Lucas always had the right words and could be so charming but she couldn't let herself just jump back into a relationship with him and besides she had Jason to think about too.

"What do you want from me, what can I do to prove I've changed since highschool?"

"I just need to see it." Brooke sighed. "We can be friends Luke. That's all."

"I'll take it." Lucas smiled and pulled her into a hug. "It's a start."


	11. Chapter 10

**This chapter is a lot longer then the previous ones, I just kept having things to write. We're getting to the best parts of the story so it's definitely easier to write. I'll update soon but until then...ENJOY!**

"Thank you very much" Brooke hung up her cell phone and ran out to the living room to find Haley. When she spotted Haley and Nathan sitting on the couch she couldn't help but yell. "I GOT IT!"

"Great job Tigger!" Haley jumped up and hugged her best friend. The two of them were jumping up and down since they were so excited. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Me too Bee." Nathan pulled her into a hug when they finally calmed down.

"I need to get officey clothes!" Brooke jumped up at the idea of shopping.

"Officey clothes? Really?" Nathan laughed. "On that note I'm gonna head to the weight room, basketball season starts soon."

"You sure you don't want to come shopping with us Natey?" Brooke pouted jokingly.

"Yeah. Not a chance." Jason started making noise and Nathan turned around. "I'll take Jay with me. You guys have a girl's day." Nathan picked up Jason and headed for the gym. It was always so much fun when Nathan brought Jason with him to the gym. All the guys had fun playing with the little boy and teaching him basketball. Although none of them would admit to their girlfriends or anyone else that they enjoyed playing with a baby, it would definitely ruin their macho physique.

"So Brooke what exactly is this job?" Haley and Brooke were enjoying their day walking around the mall and talking.

"It's a receptionist job, basically just answering the phones I guess." Brooke shrugged. "It pays pretty good and hey, it gets my foot in the door of the fashion world."

"It sounds perfect." Haley smiled. Brooke had come a long way since high school and was being really responsible about the future. "What are you gonna do with Jason during the day?"

"I've been thinking about that and I'm not really sure yet. I have until next week to figure it out but I just don't know."

"I'll watch him as much as I can but I have classes."

"Hales, don't worry about it. You guys already do way too much for us." Brooke was so thankful for all they'd done for her already.

"Well, I get out of class at eleven tomorrow, if you want we can go check out some daycares afterward."

"Perfect."

Haley and Brooke were hanging out in the apartment waiting for the boys to get home. When they heard the door open Brooke jumped up, she missed Jason after not having seen him all day. In New York she never left him for very long. "How are my two favorite boys?" Brooke took Jason from Nathan and started hugging and kissing him.

"Exhausted." It was true, Nathan looked wiped out and Jason's eyes were getting heavy. "Man that kid has a lot of energy."

"Imagine being cooped up in a small apartment with him for weeks on end." Brooke stuck her tongue out at Nathan who shivered at the thought. "But really Nate, thanks for being so good with him and taking him today."

"Anytime Bee. I love him and I love you too, you know?" Nathan leaned in and gave her a kiss on the check.

"Hey what about me?" Haley joked from over on the couch. Nathan and Brooke looked at each other and both got these devilish grins, which didn't go un noticed by Haley. "Guys. What are you…" Haley got cut off by Nathan and Brooke throwing themselves on top of her. She grabbed Jason and held him close while trying to get away from her best friend and boyfriend tickling her.

"We love you Hales." Brooke gave her a big wet kiss on the cheek.

"Definitely." Nathan smirked and laid on a long passionate kiss.

"Well on that note…" Brooke laughed. "Me and Jason are gonna go to Karen's for dinner. You two have fun. Remember the scrunchy system from when we lived together." Brooke looked over her shoulder at Haley as she grabbed the diaper bag. Haley nodded and blushed. "Well use it." Brooke smirked which made Haley blush even more and Nathan just start laughing.

"Wait Brooke, you know Lucas is probably gonna be at Karen's?" Haley quickly threw out there figuring it would be better to warn her then her be blindsided.

"That's okay. We're trying to be friends remember?" Brooke exited quickly after that not really wanting to continue having this conversation. Secretly she hoped Lucas would be there. They had had some rough times since she got back. She wanted to have some fun with him, he always brought out such a great side of her. They could have fun as friends, right? Brooke was trying to convince herself.

"Okay baby. Tonight you're going to meet someone very important to mommy." Brooke was talking to Jason as she pulled up to Karen's Café. Part of it was to distract her from her nerves as she anticipated seeing Lucas again. "I love you very very much buddy." Brooke tickled her son a little bit as he was giggling. The two of them walked into the café hand in hand. As she expected, Lucas was sitting at the counter talking to his mom who was laughing. When Karen saw Brooke walk in she ran over to her.

"Brooke Davis. You disappear for over a year and now you've been back a couple weeks and this is only my second time seeing you. That is unacceptable." Karen engulfed Brooke in a hug.

"I promise, I'll come more Karen. I'm sorry." Brooke laughed.

"You better." Karen laughed too, she wanted to make sure Brooke knew she wasn't actually mad. Karen knelt down to Jason's height. "Hello Jason."

"Jason, say hi to Grandma Karen." When Brooke said that Karen looked up at her with tears forming in her eyes.

"Ggggrandma Karen?" Karen stuttered out as she stood up now holding Jason.

"Well who else would be his grandma? Certainly not my parents." Brooke grinned at Karen.

"Now should I ask why mother is crying?" Lucas laughed as Brooke walked up to sit next to him at the counter and Karen continued back to the other side of the counter.

"I called her Grandma Karen." Brooke laughed.

"I'm sure you made her day, you realize she's never gonna give him back now?" Lucas looked over at his mom and the little boy playing with the buttons on the coffee maker. Brooke just laughed. All she wanted was for people to love her son as much as she did, Karen included in that.

"I'll go make you guys some food. Why don't you move to a booth and I'll bring it out." Karen handed Jason back to Brooke and walked back to the kitchen as she saw the three of them get up and head to the booth.

"Hey Jay, this is Lucas." Jason just kind of looked at his mom and started playing with her hair. Brooke and Lucas both laughed. Jason could care less about Lucas. Lucas decided he would take it upon himself to get Jason's attention.

"Hi Jason." Lucas leaned over and picked Jason up from Brooke's arms and placed him on the table in front of him. "I'm Lucas. One of your mommy's very good friends."

" 'cas" Lucas looked at Brooke with wide eyes. Brooke just laughed, of course her son would say Lucas' name.

"Nathan's gonna be so mad when he finds out he said your name first."

"He didn't really say my name though."

"In his world he did. He's at that age where he just says some sounds not really full words. Things like ma and no. Especially no." Brooke smiled. She loved talking about her son, he was her world.

"You know I always knew you'd be a great mother." Lucas smiled at Brooke. Hearing her talk about Jason, he knew how great she was doing.

"Really? I didn't think anyone else ever thought that. Especially not me."

"I always did. I mean hey, you learned exactly what not to do." Lucas joked knowing Brooke's mother was never around.

"I remember sitting in the hospital moments after Jason was born." Brooke grinned thinking of that day. "I was so scared because I had no idea how to take care of a baby, I had never even held one. I was on the verge of a mental breakdown when the nurse came over to the bed with Jason. He was wrapped in a blanket and they had just cleaned him off. The second I held him, I just knew that I was going to be okay, even if I was alone."

"You've always been really tough and independent Brooke."

"I've always done everything on my own so I knew I could do this too." Brooke sighed thinking about how hard it was to be a single mother. "I wasn't completely on my own though." Brooke laughed when her phone rang. "Hey Bitch. What's up?" Lucas gave her a strange look when he heard what she said.

"How's the hometown?" Rachel missed her friend since she left so suddenly she didn't really get a chance to say goodbye.

"It's good. I'm actually with Lucas right now."

"What?!" Rachel was shocked beyond belief. She had heard a lot about Lucas especially the stuff with Peyton.

"I'll call you later. Our food's here." Brooke didn't give Rachel a chance to answer as she hung up the phone since Karen had just dropped off their food.

"So who was that?" Lucas looked skeptically at Brooke.

"My only friend in New York." Brooke laughed.

"Brooke Davis. Miss Popular. Only having one friend? I don't believe it."

"Yeah well, I had other things to do, I didn't really meet people." Brooke looked at Lucas thinking it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I guess. How'd you meet Rachel then?"

"Well I was working as a waitress while I lived in the city and in the first 5 months I was there, I was always really moody to everyone at work but Rachel was just as much a bitch so she always stuck up for me when the other girls complained. Then the day after I had Jason I was sitting in the maternity ward watching people come and go from everyone else's rooms to visit them. I had driven myself to the hospital and hadn't had anyone come visit. I was feeling extremely lonely and had my phone out. I was going to call you. I had actually dialed your number when Rachel came walking into the room. She said that our boss said you had the baby so I figured I'd come see if your baby was cute or not. Ever since she was there to help, she has a very tough exterior because she's afraid of showing she's really a softy but she loved Jason." Brooke looked down at the table and tried to look distracted. She didn't want to look up at Jason because she knew that he would look at her with a guilty look on his face because he felt bad for her.

"I'm sorry." Lucas didn't know what to say. "I wish you would have called me, you know I would have been there."

"I know, but you were with Peyton at the time…" Brooke didn't want to get all emotional and heavy with him, she just wanted to have fun. "Can we not talk about it though? I just want to have fun, okay?" Brooke smiled.

"Sure. So what do you want to do tonight?" Lucas starting clearing the plates from the table.

"There's not much we can do with a one year old tagging along but I'm sure we could find something." Brooke laughed.

"Wanna go minigolfing?" Lucas asked, thinking it was something that Jason could try and do.

"Sure, we'll see how it goes." The duo took Jason and went to the mini golf place. The night basically consisted of Jason running back and forth between them and rolling the ball into the hole himself. Whenever they did try to actually play he would just then go pick up the ball from wherever it landed and run away with it. The actual mini golfing might've been a fail but Brooke certainly had a great time. Lucas was great with Jason and of course was his usual charming self all night long. This was both a good and a bad thing for Brooke. She knew she was getting roped in again but for now they're still just friends and that's the way she wanted it.


	12. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! School is getting crazy as it nears finals, don't worry though I will update as much as possible still. Don't forget to REVIEW! They motivate me to update quicker. We have some big Brucas stuff coming up in the next chapter!**

The next few weeks flew by. Brooke had started her new job and loved it. Jason was in daycare during the day and Haley would pick him up when she was done with classes. Every night the four of them would have dinner together and it was a routine Brooke was getting used to. Brooke had decided though it was time she was on her own again and started looking for houses.

"Hey Hales, wanna go house shopping with me today?" Brooke came into the kitchen peppy as ever.

"Of course." Haley laughed at her friend's energy that early in the morning.

"Great! The realtor called this morning and she said she found a whole bunch and it'll probably take all day to look at all of them, but hey maybe I'll like one of the first ones and we won't have to go to the rest."

"Tigger. Calm down. Your rambling." Nathan and Haley both chuckled.

"I'm just super excited. Speaking of which Nate, any chance you wanna take Jay so that we don't have to drag him along?" Brooke walked over to Nate batting her eyelashes.

"Sorry Bee. I wish I could but I can't. We have a pretty strenuous work out today at practice and coach is starting to get a little annoyed at my running performance since I have a fifteen pound weight on my back."

"It's alright. He'll be a good boy for mommy. Won't he? Oh yes he will." Brooke was talking directly to her son now. Brooke and Haley walked through 3 houses and 2 apartments already. Each one making them more miserable as Jason grew more and more anxious. He just wouldn't sit still or stop crying. They decided to take a lunch break before heading back to look at the last couple houses. The realtor ran back to her office to grab the rest of the keys while the girls and Jason headed toward Karen's Café.

"Aw my sweet little boy." Karen came over and started fussing over Jason the second they walked in.

"Sweet" Haley huffed sarcastically. After the day they had she had seen Jason's not so sweet side. Brooke couldn't help but laugh at her friend.

"What? He's perfect" Karen picked him up looking at Haley confused.

"Yeah, well you feel free to keep him." Brooke shook her head. Even though she loved her son he was a little too much for even her today.

"Wow. What's up with you two?" Lucas came and sat down in their booth, overhearing their conversation with his mother.

"We've had a long day. We spent the day looking at houses and apartments for Brooke." Haley sighed and put her head down on the table, clearly exhausted.

"It was supposed to be fun." Brooke pouted. "But a one year old kind of kills that."

"Well why didn't you just leave him home with Nathan." Lucas asked confused as to why they would have brought him in the first place.

"He has basketball practice." Brooke and looked at her watch and grunted. "Haley we have to go meet the realtor in ten minutes. You better scarf down that food faster."

"Your going back to look at more houses?" Lucas looked confused.

"Yeah, hopefully one of these is the one." Haley laughed as she shoved more food in her mouth.

"Brooke can I talk to you for a second." Lucas stood up from the table and motioned to the back.

"Um sure." Brooke followed him back there.

"Okay. So I know you still don't trust me yet but we have been getting closer and I like to think we're pretty good friends again. Maybe you'd consider leaving Jason with me for the rest of the day. I'm not doing anything and it would make it a lot easier for you guys. I promise I'll take good care of him."

Brooke stood there and thought for a moment. "Okay."

"You sure?" Lucas was surprised she caved so easily.

"Yes Luke. I may not trust you with my heart yet but you're a good guy and I do trust you with my son. So thanks, you're right it'll make mine and Haley's day easier." Brooke smiled up at Lucas and they walked back to the table. "Hey baby." Brooke got down at Jason's level. "You're gonna go with Lucas okay? Me and Aunt Haley will come pick you up later." Haley smiled. Not only because she was excited to not have a screaming one year old with them the rest of the day but because she knew Brooke trusting Lucas with her son was a step in her trusting him again.

Lucas took Jason from Brooke but could tell she was rethinking it. "Brooke. It's gonna be fine. Just a couple hours." Lucas gave both Haley and Brooke a hug and then him and Jason headed out.

Haley and Brooke pulled up to a small house. "Aw! It looks so cute!" Haley gushed.

"Hopefully it's not too small though." Brooke had become a debby downer. Since she hadn't had any luck earlier now she thought there was going to be something wrong with every house they went to. Brooke was completely silent as they walked around. There were two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Then there was a small kitchen with a little breakfast nook area she could put a table. The living room though was big. She could easily have people over without worrying about them being to cramped. The second they walked outside she knew it was the house. There was a back yard big enough for a play set and had a patio she could relax on at night. "It's perfect." Brooke leaned over and whispered to Haley.

Haley smiled and turned to the realtor. "How much a month is it?" She had always been the practical one and figured she'd ask the questions her mom had told her to ask when she rented her apartment.

"800 a month." The realtor quickly answered, knowing it was right in Brooke's price range.

"Okay. It comes with all the appliances correct?"

"Yes."

"How old is the furnace?"

"They replaced it just about 5 years ago."

"Okay, thanks. Can we have a minute?" Brooke had just stood there not saying anything up until now but she wanted a minute to talk to her best friend before she made such a huge decision. "What do you think Hales?"

"I think it's such a cute house and the perfect size for you and Jason." Haley was just as excited about this. "It's well priced too."

"I know. I think I'm gonna do it." Brooke and Haley both squealed and hugged eachother. "I'm gonna miss living with you guys though."

"We'll miss you too, even though it was a little crazy sometimes." Haley laughed.

As Brooke approached the Rivercourt she couldn't help but smile. Lucas had Jason on his shoulders and they were running around. The scene in front of her made her heart melt. She wanted so badly for Jason to have a father. He would never know his biological one, but one day she hoped she'd be lucky enough to find a boy that loved her and her son. When she looked at Lucas, she knew he could be that boy for her. She had always seen herself having a family with Lucas. She was broken out of her thoughts when Jason noticed her and yelled "MA!"

Lucas turned around and smiled. "Hey." He took Jason off his shoulders and placed him on the ground so he could run to his mom.

"Hey. Did you boys have fun?" Brooke asked looking at Jason and then up at Lucas.

"Of course we did. Right Jay?" Lucas looked at the little boy and he shook his head. "See."

"Well I'm glad." Brooke smiled. "We have to go meet Haley and Nathan for dinner though." She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Luke."

"Anytime." Luke watched them start to walk away. "Brooke?"

She turned back around. "Yeah?"

"I mean that. Don't be afraid to call me if you need anything. For Jason, or for you."

Brooke smiled. "Hey Luke, wanna come to dinner with us. I'm sure Haley and Nate wouldn't mind."

"I would love to." He walked over toward Brooke and held Jason's other hand as the three walked toward the car.


	13. Chapter 12

**I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Life is crazy with college and work but I'll try to post again soon. Let me know what you think, REVIEWS! :)**

Brooke, Lucas, Haley, and Nathan had eaten dinner and put Jason to bed so now they were sitting around looking at old yearbooks and reminiscing. The four of them had had some pretty good times in the past.

"Remember that one time Brooke got so drunk that she just kept running around the house singing the Spice Girls." They all laughed at Haley's story.

"Hey, tutor girl remember the first time you drank and you wouldn't stop speaking Shakespearian." Brooke stuck her tongue out as Nathan and Lucas both broke out laughing.

"I remember that. Where art thou alcohol?" Lucas barely managed to speak since him and Nathan were now both doubled over from laughing so hard.

"Haha very funny." Haley slapped Lucas. Everyone calmed down a little and continued to just flip through old photo albums and yearbooks.

"So are you strong men gonna help me move in to my new place?" Brooke flashed her perfect smile at her two boys knowing they would never say no to her.

"Of course Bee, as much as I'd like to see you try I don't want to see you hurt yourself." Nathan got a swat on the arm from his girlfriend for that one.

"I'm in too." Lucas looked over and smiled at Brooke. "When are you gonna move in?"

"Oooo yay!" Brooke jumped up and clapped her hands. "Well, she said next weekend. So we have exactly seven days til move in and oh so much to do!"

"Calm down Tigger. You don't have all that much stuff, remember." Haley put her hand reassuringly on Brooke's leg when she watched her best friend's face fall.

"Oh yeah," Brooke sat back down. "I guess that's what I get for just up and leaving New York on such short notice." She sighed.

"Hey Bee, don't worry about it. That just means your gonna have to go shopping." Nathan smirked knowing exactly what to say to cheer up his childhood friend.

Brooke's face lit up instantly, she loved to go shopping. After thinking about it for a moment though, her face fell again and she stood up. "Um, I'm gonna go outside for a minute. I need some fresh air." Brooke quickly walked out the backdoor onto the deck and planted herself in one of the chairs.

Back inside the trio left sitting in the living room had no idea what just happened. "Uh, what did I say? She loves shopping." Nathan was confused and looked over at his brother who was running his hand through his hair.

"I have no idea." Haley mumbled. "I'll be right back."

"Hales wait," Lucas interjected as Haley stood up. "Let me." Lucas headed toward the back door and walked out to find Brooke curled up on a chair shivering.

"Hey, take this." Lucas handed her his sweatshirt as he knelt down in front of her.

"Thanks Luke." She flashed him her fake smile but he saw right through it just like he always did.

"So are you gonna tell me what's going on in that pretty little head of yours."

"I'm just being stupid." Brooke shrugged and looked down.

"Hey. Hey Brooke, look at me. You are not stupid, okay?" Brooke just nodded her head in response. "Now what's wrong?"

"It's just that I'm about to move into a new house and I have nothing. I have no furniture; Jason only has some toys and clothes but not much. All we have is what I could pack in a couple hours and fit in my car."

"It's no big deal, you can buy new stuff." Luke didn't quite understand.

"With what money, Luke?" Brooke looked down at her hands again. "God, I can't even buy my baby new clothes as he gets bigger. Let alone furnish a new bedroom for him. What kind of mother am I?"

"A great one." Lucas grabbed Brooke's hands. "You love your son and that's something money can't buy. You know that better than anyone. Now things might be rough but you'll get through."

"We didn't have a lot of money in New York but I was making enough. I'm making less now and out all of the stuff that I had already had in that apartment. I shouldn't have come here. It was selfish, he was better off there."

"He has people that love him and his mom here. People that will help you raise him and love him. Here you have a family for him and that's more important than anything else. You did the right thing by coming home, trust me." Lucas had pulled her into a hug.

"You always know what to say Luke," Brooke pulled away and looked at him. "Thanks." She smiled.

"You know I'll always be here for you Brooke. Don't ever doubt that." He kissed her on the forehead. "I have to get going though, okay? I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Bye Luke." Brooke smiled and got up to follow him inside.

"It's all good." Lucas whispered to Nathan as he passed by the living room toward the door. "I'm gonna head out I'll see you guys tomorrow." After Lucas left, Haley, Brooke, and Nathan said good night and headed to bed too. The next couple days flew by fast everyone going about their normal routines and doing some preparations for the move. Friday night came and Brooke met with the realtor to get the keys. Once she got them she went to pick up Haley and picked up her and Jason to walk through the house before they moved in the next day.

"So where's Nate?" Brooke asked as her and Haley drove to the new place.

"I don't know. He went out with Lucas this morning and hasn't been back since." Haley shrugged. "I'll text him and tell him and Lucas to meet us there so they can see it too."

"Okay! I'm so excited!" Brooke bounced up and down in her seat as Haley texted Nathan.

"Nate said their just leaving the gym now and will pick up some pizza on their way over here." Haley told Brooke as they pulled up to the new house.

"Great! Now let's go check out my new place tutor girl!" Brooke jumped out of the car and swung open the backdoor to grab her son.

"You ready Tigger?" Haley asked as she took Jason so Brooke could unlock the door.

"Yes!" she leaned forward and opened the door. "Welcome home Jay." The second the door opened Brooke froze.

"Unc Natey" Jason jumped down from Haley's arms and toddled over to Nathan who was standing next to Lucas.

"Wha-What is going on?" Brooke shuddered where she was standing and could barely breathe. "Guys? Hales?" Brooke flung her head around in every direction.

Lucas walked forward and took Brooke's hands. "Come look around Brooke." Lucas started to guide her forward. In front of her was a fully finished living room. To her left a kitchen with a bunch of boxes of pots, pans, and dishes on the counter. "My mom gave a bunch of her old stuff from the café for your kitchen. She found her old couch and coffee table in the attic as well."

"Oh my gosh. Lucas you didn't have to do all this." Brooke was overwhelmed.

"Just wait and see, Bee." Nathan smirked and took Brooke and pushed her toward the door first door on her right. When she opened the door she gasped and held onto Nathan thinking she might faint. "I had a surprisingly good time shopping for this stuff." Brooke looked up with tears in her eyes and clenched on to Nathan for dear life as he held her close.

"Natey. This is too much." Brooke looked up at him as the tears fell down her cheeks.

"Bee. I'm happy to do it. My godson deserves the best and now he has it." Nathan wiped away the tears from his best friend's face.

"Jay baby." Brooke knelt down in the doorway and reached out for her son. "Come look at your new room." Jason toddled into the room and ran to all the toys and books pulling them all off the shelves.

"Come look at your new bed Jason." Nathan picked up Jason and put him on the small wooden bed with toy story blankets and a ton of stuffed animals. Jason just giggled and jumped up and down on top of his uncle.

"Hey who's jumping on their new bed." Haley came walking into the room laughing at her godson. "Nate, you really outdid yourself here." She smiled and gave him a kiss.

"Wait, tutorgirl." Brooke whipped her head around to look at her best friend. "You weren't in on this too?"

"No, I had no idea until we got here." Haley smiled. "We sure have some awesome boys in our life don't we." Pulling Brooke into her side.

"Hey guys, can I borrow Brooke for a minute?" Lucas came into the room happy that everything went as well as he had hoped.

"Go on Bee." Nathan smiled, he knew that his brother had one last surprise planned. Brooke and Lucas walked out of the door and Lucas led them into the room right next to Jason's.

"Luke." Brooke once again began to cry. Lucas had set up her bedroom too. Complete with a big bed, vanity and armoire.

"I remembered you once told me that you wanted a house with all mahogany furniture. So I found a place that gave me a pretty good deal on all of this. You and Haley are just gonna have to go out tomorrow and buy a new bed spread."

"You did this for me Luke." Brooke looked up at him.

"I told you Brooke, you have family here and that's more important than any money." Lucas pulled her into a hug as she sobbed into his shirt.

"I don't deserve this Luke, any of it. I left you guys, all of you and when I come back you furnish my house for me. It's too much." Brooke had a habit of rambling when she got upset; Lucas always said she got that from Haley.

"It's not too much. We want you here, I want you here." Brooke had calmed down and smiled taking it all in. She finally had her house and had Lucas to thank for it. Lucas, Brooke, Haley, Nathan, and Jason all sat around the coffee table eating pizza and making a list of stuff she still needed. Curtains, towels, sheets, and a few other odds and ends; her and Haley would go shopping for them in the morning. After a while Nathan and Haley decided to head back to their apartment to get some rest and Lucas stayed to help clean up.

"I should really get going if you want me back here bright and early like you said." Lucas laughed as he headed for the door.

"Okay." Brooke followed close behind him. "Thanks again for everything Luke, I don't know what I'd do without you." Lucas just nodded and smiled. "Good night Luke."

"Night, Pretty Girl." Brooke could feel her heart stop for a moment when she heard him say those words. She knew she was falling for him, but would she ever be able to let him in again?


End file.
